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In a dissertation, there are compulsory sections which are part of it. These sections

make up the entire work in a step-by-step process. In a nutshell, these sections are

divided into 5 chapters which are; General introduction, literature review, methods,

presentation of findings, discussions/conclusions. Each of the section is significant

for the dissertation and must not be skipped by the student.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Background to the Study

The background of the study is basically a brief overview of the material that is

being researched by including current information as well as previous information,

along with a little history of the topic. The main reason that background study is

written is to provide a link between the topic and the thesis questions that are

written in it.

This particular area is important for the dissertation because it provides the reader

with an insight on the topic. The information used is already researched by

previous researchers while some new information is added to show that the student
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is carrying out his own research as well. It will not be wrong to say that this

particular area sets the initial foundation for the entire dissertation, which makes it

the important part of the paper. The background should be historical, theoretical,

conceptual and contextual.

Statement of the Problem

The Problem Statement, as it is otherwise described, is the reasonable conclusion

of the problems/issues raised in the Background to the Study. The idea is that while

the Background to the Study offers a wider or global perspective/standpoint to the

subject matter of the research, the Problem Statement makes assumptions from

there and concludes on the specifics as they relate to the specific investigation

being conducted. it must be stated reasonably briefly and very clearly. There is no

doubt that a satisfactory statement of the research problem is the most important

component of a research process.

General Objective {Purpose} of the Study

Specific objectives

The general objective describes the overall aim of a research project whereas the

specific objective is concerned with the comprehensive list of intentions

concerning what the research stands to accomplish at the end of the project.

Typically, the specific objectives are stated in the form of declarative statements
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for example, the statement should start with “to examine”, “to analyze”, “to

determine”, “to assess”, “to find out” etc.

General Research Question

Specific Research questions

The Research Questions usually take the form of interrogative statement derived

from the objectives.

.As its name implies, Research Questions is presented just like interrogations

seeking to create specific relations among the main variables of investigation.

Research Questions usually serve as the foundation from where the questionnaire

items/questions would ultimately be derived. The difference between the two is

that the items in the questionnaire offer a further breakdown of each of the research

questions to a greater specification. This is to the level that a single research

question can turn out the range of between three to five questionnaire

items/questions. But the Research Questions are wide in nature, the questionnaire

items are typically directed towards the details thereby getting down to more

specifics.

General Hypothesis

Specific hypotheses
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A Research Hypothesis is a clear, specific statement whose validity and

workability can be tested by means of scientific method. Being a declarative

statement of prediction, it tries to determine the relationship or difference that

exists between one variable and the other; and to what degree. It is a form of clever

guess or supposition regularly derived from the results of previous studies and/or

theories originating from the literature.

Usually, there are two kinds of hypotheses; basically referring to the way they are

stated. They are the Null and the Alternative. While the former is frequently stated

in the negative form of “No Significant Relationship” or “No Significant

Difference” etc., the latter takes the positive form of statement; such as “There is a

Significant Relationship”, “There is a Significant Difference” etc.

Significance of the Study

It is anticipated that every research project must have something new to contribute

to knowledge in that research field, no matter how small. In point of fact, no

research should take place if it will not contribute anything to knowledge; as this

represents the major feature of all research endeavors.

Consequently, this section is expected to clarify the possible benefits of the

research and to whom such anticipated benefits would be meant. All these should

be clearly stated. In any way, there is no standard detail as to the number of

benefits that a research project should have or its length. It can be arranged

sequentially or itemized or paraphrased depending on the person’s method of

writing.

Justification of the study

Here the research justify scholarly and practically why the study should be carried

at this point in time

Scope (delimitation) of the Study

The scope of the study basically refers to the level of coverage of the research

subject being investigated. The scope should be content wise as well as

geographical

Operational Definition of Terms

This section of the Chapter one (introduction) is used to offer a kind of working

definition to all the concepts, which would be operationally used in the course of

the research. The notion is that there are some terminologies, which have been

“adapted” and so utilized restrictively for the purpose of the research project.

CHAPTER TWO

Review of related literature

Introduction
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This serves as the preamble to the chapter alone or preliminary information on the

chapter. All the preliminary information that should be provided here should cover

just this chapter alone because the project already has a general introduction which

is chapter one. It should only reflect the content of this chapter.

Conceptual review (Framework)

This section can otherwise be titled “Conceptual Framework”. It must capture all

explanations on the concepts that are associated with your research topic in logical

order.

Theoretical framework

This can be otherwise titled “Theoretical Review”. This section should contain

theories and models that have provided explanations on your research topic.

But the most important thing to note while writing this part is that, apart from

making sure that you must do a thorough research and ensure that the most

relevant theories for your research topic is selected, your theoretical review must

capture some important points which should better reflect in this order for each

model such as; The proponent of the theory/model, title and year of publication,

aim/purpose/structure of the theory, contents and arguments of the theory, findings

and conclusions of the theory, criticisms and gaps of the theory, and finally the

relevance of the theory to your current research topic.

Empirical review

This can be otherwise titled “Empirical Framework”. This is usually described as

the critical review of the existing academic works/literature on your research topic.

This can be organized or arranged in two different alternative ways when

developing your write up:

It can be arranged in a table with heading arranged horizontally in this order:

Author name and initials, year and title of publication, aim/objectives,

methodology, findings, conclusions, recommendations, research gap

OR

The second option excludes the use of tables but still contains the same

information exactly as above for tables. The information is provided in thematic

text format with appropriate in-text references. Note that all these points to be

included can be directly gotten from the articles except the research gap which

requires your critical thinking. Your research gap must identify an important

thing(s) the previous research has not done well or not done at all, which your

current research intends to do. Although, you should criticize, but constructively
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while acknowledging areas of perfections and successes of the authors. Note that

every research you critically review must have evident/obvious gaps that your

research intends to fill.

Appraisal of literature review

This is the concluding part of every literature review write up. It provides the

summary of the entire content of the whole Chapter. Sometimes, some institutions

require that you bring the analysis of all the gaps of the existing literature under

review here. Conclusions on the whole existing literature under review should

briefly be highlighted in this section.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODS

The methods section is the section that should clearly present each aspect of the

process by which the study will be completed. Every attempt should be made to

leave no question as to the procedures used to complete the study. Proper scientific

methods should be used for this aspect of the study.

Introduction

Research design
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Research design intends to provide an appropriate framework for a study. This

design always focuses more on what of the research subject rather than the why of

the research subject (Babbie,

1990).

Area of study

A description of your geographical location of your research

Population of the study

Population of the study covers all individuals or things or elements that fit a certain

specification that means all the items under consideration in any field of inquiry to

contribute.

Sample/sampling technique

Sampling technique is a procedure used to select some elements of a population in

such a way that it represents actual characteristics of the total population (Cohen,

2000)

Instruments for data collection

The instrumentation section should identify the tool(s) used for collection of data.

How the instrument was acquired or created as well as reliability and validity of

the instrument should be presented in this section.

Validation of instrument

Show how validity and reliability of the instrument was established

Administration of instruments

Provide a description of how your research instrument was administered

Techniques for data ananlysis

Provide a clear description of the statistical process used for analysis of data. The

type of statistical tests should be reflective of the research hypothesis or

question(s).

Ethical consideration

Describe the ethical issues addressed in your study to ensure a trusting relationship

between the respondents and the researcher

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

Introduction

Presentation of findings
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Offer your results in an order that is similar to the order you presented your

hypothesis or research questions.

Descriptive Data

Provide all the descriptive data such as demographic results.

Results of Statistical Testing

Give the results of the statistical processes conducted for your study. Provide only

the results and avoid offering conclusions or interpretations of the results.

Interpretations of Statistical Results

Offer a brief summary of the results with foundational interpretations of what the

statistics provide.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Discussion

Provide the discussion according to research objectives or questions

Provide inferences and implications that the results of the study provide you and

the reader or others who may have interest in the results. This is a time to expound
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on your results and offer insight into what your study does or does not contribute to

the body of information on your topic.

Conclusions

Identify specific conclusions resulting from you study. Offer specific insight to

what your findings reveal. This section should synthesize your findings with the

current knowledge in your area of study.

Recommendations

Limitations of the study

Suggestion for further research